****There are two opposing sides to Lauryn Hill, one that I love and one that I strongly dislike. These are the singing Lauryn and the rapping Lauryn. Her voice is amazing and she can pull off vocal runs as if they're naturally part of her voice. She has a great soulful sound that I love and it really adds oomph to what she is saying. But then there's rapping Lauryn. She's a good rapper but it's not really my thing.

I can see why this was such a big album commercially and particularly critically (it's exactly what critics loves, she pretty much bares her soul and can easily switch between rap and singing which is a pretty interesting mix), but it's not REALLY my thing. It is a good album and I'm sad I didn't enjoy it more. The string of songs towards the end (last five in particular) are really good though.

Standouts: Tell Him, Everything Is Everything, To Zion, When It Hurts So Bad, Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You.